OUR POETIC RESPONSES TO NEW ZEALAND ARTISTS AND THEIR ART
As part of our 'NZ Artistic and Cultural Expression' topic, we studied
New Zealand artists Colin Mc Cahon, Don Binney, and Robyn Kahukiwa.
We researched these artists for two weeks and reported our findings
back to our classmates. The following are poems we wrote at the end
of the study.
WALTS:
* Write free verse
* Use two or more very impressive words (previously never used by the writer)
* Use a thesaurus
* 'Drop' unnecessary words like 'and'
* Create vivid images
* Be inspired by the artist or his/her work
* Use alliteration and other devices
* Take risks

To Colin Mc Cahon
By Ryan Chen (Ryan intensively researched Mc Cahon independently for two weeks) He was impressed by Mc Cahon's determination to stick with his mode of expression in the face of public hostility)

To Colin McCahon

mccahon.jpg
When the world is spinning
And you’re no more than a speck
Nothing.....

When you saw the demons
That haunted this world
Nothing

When you tried to spread the message of hope and faith
Something
When you saw something that dwelt deeper in art
That no one else saw
Something

When in the end He didn’t come
And the candle failed to light up
And the cloudy mist clouded your eyes.....

Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Gone.....


I wonder what I would see if I saw through those eyesThose eyes that saw the message of Christ.
Those eyes that clouded with alcohol and hallucinations.
Which clouded the vision you once had.
And in the end, you lost hope in hope, and faith in faith.
And you felt nothing for us.
Yet the rage that made your art, was the rage that destroyed your art.
And the humanity you tried to save, was the humanity you lost.

Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.

Gone.

Something.



And now...... inspired
by Don Binney's
'Parakeet' a poem by
Lovedeep Kaur Yr 7
41-H.jpg
Parakeet

Picturesque bird flying past grassy hills

Its wings flapping
expeditiously in the sky.He hurts my ears by squeakingVelvety breeze blowing into the mountainsShining sea booming onto the shoreTwinkling blue sea so bright in the distance,


Like the beautiful sky up high.



ROBYN KAHUKIWA NZ MAORI ARTIST

There are many famous New Zealand artists. However most are not indigenous to their culture. Robyn Kahukiwa is an indigenous Maori artist who is known as an art icon and role model. She is a leading voice in contemporary Maori art and an international leader in indigenous art.

Kahukiwa started painting when her children were young. She would sit at her kitchen table to do so. Her intention was to give Maori people in general, a contemporary reflection of their culture and earliest traditions. Kahukiwa’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally throughout art galleries. Although her work is displayed around the world she has remained independent of art fashion.

Robyn Kahukiwa is a self taught painter. She Is also a printmaker, sculptor and writes and illustrates children's books in New Zealand. Her paintings are often include political messages. In Kahukiwa’ s work she attempts to show the oppression of Maori women by the social structures of the dominant Pakeha culture compared to the changes in Maori traditions. She often paints strong Maori women who can act as role models for younger generations, Maori and non-Maori.

Robyn Kahukiwa does not only put traditional messages throughout her work, but also includes many political messages through her paintings, and books. She often uses text in her work to make sure that the viewer is definite about what she is trying to say. One of Kahukiwa’s best known paintings is a painting called ‘Hae Hae Mo Nga Pepi Kahui’ where a mother feels deep oppression when her twins died before they were born.

Robyn Kahukiwa is an international, indigenous artist and author who continues to be a role model for future generations around the world. "My art is about Mana Maori, and the affirmation of Maori identity. It is based on our earliest traditions while marking our cultural continuance in Te Ao Hurihuri, today's world" - Robyn Kahukiwa.

By Kiana Young Whenuaroa

And Jordan Jarman